“Kuak!”
Thud!
The scarred man fell after being hit by Irene’s fist.
But it wasn’t a simple fall. He was pushed back so far that he knocked down a few tables and chairs.
The spectators who watched it held their breath.
Some even got up from their seats with startled faces.
However, Irene didn’t care.
He walked towards the man and knelt on one knee, and said.
“It’s your turn.”
“…”
“I don’t think you’ve fainted, so get up.”
“Uh, uhk!”
Scared by the cold voice, the man opened his eyes instinctually.
Then, he saw the expressionless blonde man's face.
He stuttered, not knowing what to say.
“Uh, ah, well…”
“Or do you want to surrender? If so…”
It was the moment when he was about to say, ‘tell me where Ilya Lindsay is.’
The sound of chairs being pushed to the ground could be heard. The sound of people standing up.
Suddenly, seeing the men move, Irene got up.
“Fuck this! Do you know who we are?”
“Where did this crazy bastard come from… he must want a beating.”
“You seem to be someone whose name is unknown…. Do you think that this place is clumsy like other towns?”
In an instant, profanity and threats were all thrown at Irene.
Irene glanced around the tavern with his face still expressionless.
His guess was correct.
All of the guests inside were related to the scarred man.
No, before that, this place seemed like somewhere such people would gather.
Nevertheless, the reason Irene didn’t avoid it was because he was in a hurry.
It didn’t matter if the tavern was dangerous or not; he wanted to know what had happened.
And to be honest, it didn’t even feel that dangerous.
‘Brother, don’t go around looking like that.’
Suddenly, he remembered what Kirill said.
She said that many people would pick up fights with Irene because he looks gentle.
Even so, he couldn’t change himself.
But now, he decided to follow his sister’s words.
She seemed to be right after all.
After thinking about that, Irene moved.
A few tried to stop him, but they couldn’t move because of the unknown pressure.
So the blonde young man arrived in front of a man sitting on a chair.
He was a large man with a skull tattoo on the back of his hand.
There was a moment of silence.
A strange atmosphere formed between the two.
But Irene broke the silence by asking.
“Would you like to bet with me?”
“…!”
“Same rules as before. How is that? And what I want is the same.”
“This jerk…”
The man with the skull tattoo opened his mouth. And his voice was like a beast growling.
Everyone stayed silent. Since he was the leader.
Irene knew it too. It was his intuition.
And that intuition was telling him.
This man isn’t his opponent.
Irene spoke again.
This time he raised his energy to a great degree.
Woah!
“…!”
“If you don’t want to bet, you don’t have to. I don’t really want to fight. If you give me the information I want, I will leave this place quietly and never come back. I will pay you too.”
The air in the tavern was heavy.
And it wasn’t because of the tattooed man.
It was because Irene's energy was spreading all around and restraining all of the men.
The energy was so strong that even the ones with the dullest senses could feel it.
When there was heavy pressure, as if someone important was there, looking at the blonde man made them sweat.
That was when the tavern’s door opened.
A handsome man with pointed ears entered.
“Uh, what? It’s really hot. Did you set fire somewhere? Or has the friendship between men made this place hot?”
“…”
“Ah, I see that you aren’t in the mood to joke. Sorry. My apologies.”
The man took off his hat and politely bowed.
It was weird, but no one spoke.
The man with pointy ears took advantage of the silence he created.
After bowing, he approached Irene with light footsteps.
And said,
“A swordsman? What’s your name?”
“… Irene Pareira.”
“Irene Pareira. Pareira, Pareira... I don’t think you’re from the west. And it looks like this is your first time in Eisenmarkt.”
“It is.”
“Ah! I apologize. You don’t look too out of place. Don’t get me wrong… however, it seems like you have some questions… ah, I heard it from outside…”
As he spoke, he pointed at his ears.
And then Irene realized that the person talking to him wasn’t a human.
‘He’s an elf!’
Elf.
A race that lives in the eastern part of the continent, they were characterized as more beautiful than ordinary people, with sharp, bright ears and slim bodies.
And they were known to have fewer interactions with humans than dwarves and orcs, so Irene didn’t think about them much, but the man in front of him was definitely an elf.
“Well, if you have any questions, please ask me.”
“…”
“If you stay here, things will only get worse and you won’t even get an answer.”
“But do you know the answer?”
Irene asked.
The elf’s attitude was weird and sly, but his eyes felt honest, so he couldn’t tell if the elf was messing with him or not.
Was Irene hiding his confusion?
It seemed that way since Irene’s words came out more blunt than usual.
However, the elf smiled, took out an identity card with a portrait of himself on it, and showed it to Irene.
No, it wasn’t a portrait but a picture taken by a magic tool.
Below the picture of the elf smiling were his name, affiliation, and position.
[Chief Reporter of the Weekly Arena, Hinz.]
“I’m Hinz, the chief reporter who deals with the news that will be published in the weekly magazine, Weekly Arena. I know about most of the events in Eisenmarkt, especially those related to gladiators. Maybe I can give you more useful information than the ones here…”
“…”
Irene shook his head at the arrival of someone with a job he hadn’t expected.
Newspapers and reporters.
It was unfamiliar but not something he was unaware of.
A newspaper is a periodical publication designed to quickly and accurately deliver various news to society. And a reporter is someone who reports and covers the news.
But Irene has never read a newspaper or met a reporter. He just knew that such a system existed.
However, even Irene was aware of the fact that dealing with a reporter would be tiring.
The problem was that he was in such a hurry that he couldn’t care about such a thing.
“Ah! I’m just saying this… please understand that I want nothing in return.”
“…”
“Of course, I’m not saying that I’m doing this without any selfishness… haha, in order to effectively publicize myself, I need to interview someone, so if possible at least a brief…”
Words of persuasion flowed out of Hinz’s mouth.
He spoke for so long, but not a single person stopped him.
Not because of Irene’s energy, but because the elf seemed to be a difficult person to touch.
‘I’m sure he knows a lot.’
Irene sighed.
He didn’t care about fame or interviews.
However, he thought that the elf could help him, so he didn’t mind paying a price.
Irene nodded while giving strength to his eyes and staring at Hinz.
Feeling a strange pressure, the elf looked down, and then came the question from Irene.
“Do you know where Ilya Lindsay is?”
“… huh?”
“I asked if you knew where Ilya Lindsay, the champion and Sword Master of the Land of Proof, is.”
“…”
Hearing Irene’s words, Hinz took a step back.
He was still smiling. However, anyone with a keen eye would know that his face had gone stiff.
And then Irene spoke to him again.
“If you know, please guide me. To the residence of Ilya Lindsay.”
‘This is difficult!’
Reporter Hinz glanced at Irene, who was following him, and sighed.
When he first looked at Irene, he was interested.
Obviously, he was.
The people of Eisenmarkt are addicted to fighting and gambling, so new powers were always welcomed.
The emergence of a talented young man who even he didn’t know of. It seemed like an interesting article to the elf who’s been a reporter for 15 years.
So he approached him intending to get to know him and then write an article…
‘But he’s a madman who wants to go straight to the champion.’
Of course, it wasn’t that he didn’t know where Ilya Lindsay lived.
Any reporter who lived here for a few months would know where the champion lives.
But when reporters were beaten by Ilya Lindsay’s escorts for trying to get an interview with her, Hinz had given up on the thought of meeting her.
It was because he had no intention of clinging to something that had less than a 0.01% chance of success.
‘… even the lord of Eisenmarkt will be sent away, there is no way this one can meet her.’
Hinz sighed.
After guiding this gentle yet crazy man to where she lived, he planned on running away.
If he stayed, he would be beaten by them too.
Since he was a different race, they wouldn’t beat him badly…
‘But I don’t want to be hit at all.’
While thinking about that, they arrived in front of a large mansion.
It was one of the most elegant places in Eisenmarkt, and there was a man, who seemed like the gatekeeper, standing there.
Hinz pointed towards the mansion and said.
“This is where the champion lives.”
“… I see. Thank you.”
“Haha. For what? I’m glad it was helpful. Then I will… ah! Weekly Arena Hinz, Hinz! Don’t forget me. Kay bye.”
“…”
After guiding Irene to the mansion, Hinz turned away without feeling any regrets.
There was no reason to stay there.
And he had another story to cover at the northern side of the square, so he would head there.
However, those thoughts disappeared as if washed away by the voice of the blonde young man behind him.
“Here, this is the emblem of the Lindsay family.”
“…”
“I came here to meet Miss Ilya Lindsay as a guest.”
‘What?’
The emblem of the Lindsay family.
The reporter, who heard those unexpected words, looked back with a shocked expression.
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